Stove checker assembly



Jan. 3, 1950 B. E. TAU

STOVE CHECKER ASISEMBLY Filed May l2, 1944 2 Sheets-Sheet l Bruce E. Tau..

'Patented Jan. 3, 1950 PATENT OFEICE s'rovr: casona-ASSEMBLY Bruce E.Tau, Chicago, lll., assignor to Freyn Engineering Company, Chicago,lll., a corporation of Maine Application May 12. 1944, Serial No.535,271

ZCiaima.

The present invention relates to improvements in stove checker assembly.

More particularly the present invention relates to improvements in theheat interchanser elements of hot blast stoves.

It is common practice to build a hot blast stove with an annular ringwall and to provide the interior oi the stove with an assembly ofcheckers. which checkers provide a plurality of passageways for productsof combustion for supplying heat to said checkers, which passageways inturn permit the flow of air to be heated by said checkers.

The checkers used in hot blast stoves are subjected to very hightemperatures and should be supported in a substantial manner by the ringwall. Moreover, the checkers must be replaced at times, and it isimportant that the matter of replacement be made as simple as possible.

In certain arrangements of checkers the outer surface of the checkerbody is characterized by a very irregular serrated contour. It isdifllcult to build a satisfactory ring wall to join this contoursatisfactorily. According to certain prior constructions the ring wallhas been made up of a combination of key bricks and straight bricks laidradially to make a ring wall having a substantially smooth exteriorcontour and a substantially smooth interior contour. The space betweenthe smooth interior contour and the irregular serrated contour of thechecker body has been iilled with irregularly shaped pieces of brick orthe like and with clay. The construction just described has thedisadvantage that the ring wall does not serve as a substantial supportfor the checker body, inasmuch as the intermediate filling between theinterior surface of the ring wall and the exterior surface of thechecker body is not strong. This type of construction lacks stability.This type of construction has the further disadvantage that if and whenthe checker body or portions thereof are removed for replacement, theillling material between the interior contour of the ring wall and theouter surface of the checker body falls oil', inasmuch as it is notbonded to the ring wall and has very littlel inherent stability.

According to another prior construction, the ring wall is made upentirely of standard straight bricks. Considerable diillculty has beenexperienced in fitting these bricks to the irregular contour of theexterior of the checker body to provide the relatively intimate iitwhich is desired in orderv that the ring wall will Serve t (Cl. 'Iz-102)2 support the checker body for providing stabity. In order to accomplishsuch nt it was necessary to cut a large number of bricks, usually bysawing. This involved a relatively great time i'or construction andrelatively high construction cost. In some cases itwas sought to obviatethis high cost by omitting the relatively intimate ilt between the ringwalland the exterior of the checker body and instead illling the spacebetween the ring wall and the checker body inthe manner generallydescribed in previous paragraphs. This construction had the disadvantageabove mentioned.

An object of the present invention is to provide a stove construction inwhich the interior of the ring wall and the exterior of the checker bodyengage along chords bounding the periphery of the checker body.

A further object is to provide an improved stove construction in whichthe periphery of the checker body is provided by a relatively smallnumber of specially constructed checkers i'or pro' viding a checker bodyhaving its exterior surface arranged along ilat surfaces to which thering wall may be intimately fitted without the expenditure of excessivetime and/or labor.

A further object is to provide a stove construction in which the checkerbody has its exterior disposed in a plurality of planes to which thering wall may be tted', leaving the exterior oi the ring wall with anirregular contour, ii desired, where the irregularity is of relativelysmall consequence.

A further object is to provide an improved edge checker for a checkerbody, which edge checker is useful in building a checker body theexterior wall of which is bounded by plane surfaces.

A further object is to provide a checker construction for a hot blaststove utilizing forthe most part checkers of standard construction and arelatively small number oi checkers of nonstandard construction toprovide a checker body having its exterior wall bounded by planesurfaces.

A further object is to provide a hot blast stove construction which issimple and sturdy, which can be easily repaired and which meets theneeds of commercial operation.

Further objects will appear as the description proceeds. V

Referring to the drawings- 56 Figure l is a sectional view oi' a portionof a blast furnace stove embodying the principles of the presentinvention;

Figure 2 is a top plan view of one of the standard checkers utilized inthe construction illustrated in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a top plan view of a half checker such' as utilized informing the exterior wall of the checker body illustrated in Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a top plan view of another type of edge checker utilized informing the exterior wall of the checker body illustrated in Figure l;and

Figure 5 is a. sectional view taken along the plane indicated by thearrows 5-5 of Figure 2 or Figure 4.

Figure l represents in horizontal section half of a blast furnace stove,said blast furnace stove havingthe ring wall I within which is the usualcombustion chamber wall II providingfthe combustion chamber I2. Saidring wall I0 is made up of bricks and has a generally cylindrical `exterior, though according to the present invention the exterior wall maybe more or less serrated. Surrounding the ring wall I0 is the shell I3,and located between the exterior of the ring wall I0 and the shell I3 isa body of insulating material indicated by the numeral I4. Thisinsulating material may bemerely of a illler character and need have nobond with the ring wall I0 or the shell I3. Accordingly, the brickspresented to the exterior of the ring wall I0 maybe permitted to presenta rather irregular surface, and the cutting of the bricks need not beexact. As will be explained as the description proceeds, the interiorsurface of the ring wall I0 will be a series Vof planes. Considering theperimeter of the inner surface of thelring wall I0 at any elevation,said perimeter is bounded by a plurality of chords.

, The numerals I-I5 indicate checkers of a known type, a large number ofwhich are assembled within the ring wall I0 to constitute heat storingand heat transmitting bodies for storing up heat from products ofcombustion when the hot blast stove is on gas and for giving up heat toair passing through the stove when the stove is on blast.

The checkers I5-I5 are of standard construction, the illustrated checkerbeing the seven-hole type. The checker I5 chosen for illustration has across section in the shape of a regular hexagon, thisl meaning that theexterior fiat surfaces I I-I 6 thereof lie in an equiangular,equilateral hexagon.

I Medially of the checker I5 is the center hole I'I.

Disposed in a circle about the center hole I'I are six other holes I8I8.The top side of the checker I5 is provided with a relatively shallowcircular recess I9. 'I'he flat surfaces I6-I6 of the checker I5 arejoined by the arcuate portions 2lb-20. Extending transversely of thechecker 'I5 is thearcuate groove 2I providing communication between theholes I'I, I8 and the arcuate surfaces 20-20. In the claims, checkershaving a cross sectional contour of a regular polygon will be referredto as regular checkers.

An assembly of standard or regular checkers such as those indicated bythe numerals I5`I5 will produce a serrated exterior wall of the checkerbody, and accordingly the present invention contemplates the use ofsupplementary checkers in cooperation with the standard or regularcheckers I5-I5 to produce an exterior wall for the checker body boundedby plane surfaces.

Figure 3 illustrates one of these auxiliary checkers, said checker beingindicated by the numeral 22. Said checker. it will be noted, is half ofa standard checker, the standard checker I5 being divided along a planesymmetrically disposed with respect to the groove 2l. In other words,the checker shown in Figure 3 has a cross sectional contour bounded bythe sides of half of a hexagon, the dividing line being parallel withone side of said hexagon and passing through'the center of said hexagon.

Another supplementary 'checker contemplated by the present invention isillustrated in Figures 4 and 5 and is indicated by the numeral 23. Saidchecker 23 is similar in many respects to the standard checker I5,including height, but differs from the standard checker I5 in therespect that it embodies extra material and in the further particularthat instead of beingbounded by six sides lying in a hexagon it isbounded by a symmetrical five-sided figure pentagon. Figure 4 shows inbroken lines how a hexagon bounding a correspondingchecker I5 wouldappear superimposed upon the supplementary checker 23.' Said'checker 23includes four fiat faces I6 equal to the corresponding flat faces I6 ofthe checker 23. Said checker 23 includes the broad fiat face 24,

the plane of which is disposed in symmetricalrelationship with the flatfaces IG-IB. In the illustrated embodiment of the present invention, avertex of the hexagon bounding the faces IG--I 6 of the checker I5 wouldlie in the plane of the flat face 24 of the checker 28. Expressed inother language, the ,supplementary checker 23 has its flat sides boundedby a pentagon, four faces of which are equal to those of thecorresponding standard or regular checker I5. v'I'he fifth side of saidpentagon, as the member 23 is illustrated, lies approximately at thevertex of the two remaining sides of the hexagon dening thecorresponding checker I5. l

The supplementary checker 23 has the grooves 2li-20 like those in thecorresponding standard or regular checker I5, and has the seven holes,I8, corresponding to those in the vstandard checker I5. Two of thegrooves adjoining diametrically opposite side faces I5`I6 aresemicircular, -as indicated by the numerals 25-25,

yand adjoining said grooves 2li-25 are the iiat faces 2li-2G, which arein the same planes as the adjacent faces IG-IG. The lines defining thefaces lli-I6, 26-26 of the checker 23 are in colinear relationship withthe corresponding regular hexagon bounding the faces of the regularchecker I5, as clearly indicated in Figure 4. The checker 23 is providedat the top thereof with the transverse groove 2l communicatingwith oneof the grooves 20 and with the circular recess I9. The pentagonalchecker 23 is structurally strong because the outer wall or envelope iscontinuous and is braced by the partitions between the holes.

The half checkers 22 and the pentagon checkers 23, as noted above, aresupplementary checkers and for convenience may be referred to as edgecheckers. Said edge checkers 22 and 23 are, according to the presentinvention, mounted in assembled relationshipwith the standard checkersI5 to provide the fiat surfaces bounding the checker body within thering wall I0.' Considering any horizontal plane throughout the height ofthe checker assembly within the ring wall I0, the perimeter of the planefigure denoting the cross section at that particular height is boundedby chords, the chords which bound the half checkers interspersed withregular checkers being indicated by the numerals 28-28 and' the chordsbounding the pentagon checkers being indicated by the numerals 29-29.4The angle between one chord and the next adjacent chord is produced bycombination of 90 and 60 angles resulting from the 90 and the 60 cornersof the hexagons, half hexagons and the pentagons. In all cases the anglebetween adjacent chords and 29 equals 90 plus 60, or 150. For instance,considering the chord 2l formed by regular checkers and half checkersshown horizontally at the top of Figure l, the angle with the chord 29shown at the right thereof and resulting from the combination ofpentagon edge checkers is' made up of 60 between the long face andadjacent short face of a halt checker' plus 90 be tween the faces 2|, 28o1 the pentagon edge checker. The same applies with reference to all oi'the other contiguous chords comprising the ring wall.

It is obvious that the radius applying to the right extremity of a givenchord, 28shown at the top of Figure l, is cJincident with the radius atthe left extremity of the next adjacent chord 29 to the right. It-islikewise obvious that the radius at the right extremity of said adjacentchord 29 is coincident with the radius of the adjacent chord to theright thereof. Since these radii are equal, the chords have theirextremities within a circle.

A study of Figure 1 discloses the fact that there are three exteriorchordal surfaces in each 90 sector of the checker assembly. If thechecker assembly'were carried out throughout the whole cross-sectionalarea of the stove including the combustion chamber, the resultinggrouping of checkers would be a twelve-sided polygon. In

conformity therewith the ring wall would have an interior configurationof a twelve-sided poly;

bounded by ilat surfaces, it is a relatively simple matter to build upthe ring wall i0 to engage said ilat surfaces. The numeral 30 indicatesgenerally a course of bricks, and the numeral 3| indicates anothercourse of bricks at a diilerent level from the course 30. Said courses30 and 3i may alternate throughout the height of the checker body. Theamount of cutting oi bricks in the ring wall i0 is minimized, andan-intimate relationship is obtained between the ring wall and thechecker body. This contributes to the stability ot the checker body andalso permits the removal of any portion of the checkers withoutdisturbing the ring wall. Replacement checkers can be inserted withease.

When the bricks in the ring wall i0 are laid in the general mannerindicated by the numerals 30'and 3l in Figure ,1, an irregular outercontour is likely to result. This is of small consequence because asubstantial space between the inside of the shell i4 and the exterior ofthe ring wall I0 is normally provided to permit expansion of the stovewith respect to the stove shell and also to permit the insertion ofinsulating material, which is merely of filler character and which needhave no bond with the ring wall. For this reason the bricks on theexterior of the ring wall I0 may present a somewhat irregular. surfaceand the cutting, if any, need not be exact.

In the construction shown in the drawings the checkers comprise standardhexagonal checkers, half checkers and pentagonal checkers. It will beunderstood, of course, that it may be preferred to use other shapes ofstandard or regular checkers. It may also be preferred to use othershapes of, supplementary or edge checkers, as for example athree-quarters checker, that isa checker constituting three-quarters orsome other fraction of a standard or regular checker.

Though a preferred embodiment of the present invention has beendescribed in detail, many modications will occur to those skilled in theart. It is intended to cover all such modifications that fall within thescope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is- Y i 1. In combination, in an assembly of checkers,regular checkers each having across sectional contour in the form of aregular hexagon, supplementary checkers each comprising half of aregular checker divided along a plane extending through oppositevertices of said regular hexagon and other supplementary checkers eachhaving a cross sectional contour in the form of a pentagon symmetricalabout an axis, four sides of said pentagon lying in colinearrelationship with the sides of said regular hexagon, two opposite sidesof said pentagon being parallel with said axis of symmetry and disposedat right angles to the ,each of said pentagonal checkers includes acontinuous outer wall braced by partitions between said holes, saidregular checkers and said first mentioned supplementary checkers beingarranged in alternate side by side relationship with one another forminga group, the non-hexagonal sides of said group of said first mentionedsupplementary checkers being disposed in coplanar relationship withsides of said regular checkers forming an extended riatsurface along theexterior wall 'of said assembly, said second men-v tioned supplementarycheckers of another group being disposed with their said opposite sidesin side by side relationship with the iifth sides thereof disposed incoplanar relationship forming a second extended dat surface of saidassembly, an end checker ofthe iirst group and an end checker of theother group being disposed in side by side relationship, forming acorner construction with the extended at surfaces angularly disposed.

2. In combination, in an assembly of checkers, regular checkers eachhaving a cross sectional contour in the form of a regular hexagon,supplementary checkers each comprising half of a regular checker dividedalong a plane extending through opposite vertices of said regularhexagon and other supplementary checkers each having a cross `sectionalcontour in the form of a pentagon symmetrical about an axis, four sidesof said pentagon lying in colinear relationship with the sides of saidregular hexagon, two opposite sides of said pentagon being parallel withsaid axis of symmetry and disposed at right angles to the fifth side,said fifth side being at least as close to the center of thecorresponding hexagon as a vertex of said hexagon, each of Said checkersof pentagonal contour being provided with a plurality of holes extendingtherethrough, all sides of said pentagon being located outside of saidholes, whereby each of said pentagonal checkers includes a continuousouter wall braced by partitions between said holes, said regularcheckers and said iirst mentioned supplementary checkers being arrangedin alternate side by side rela` tionship with one another forming agroup, the

non-hexagonal sides of said group of said rst mentioned supplementarycheckers being disposed in coplanar relationship with sides of saidregular checkers forming an extended flat surface along the exteriorWall of said assembly, said second mentioned supplementary checkers ofanother group being 'l i disposed with their said opposite sides in sideby side relationship with the fifth sides thereof disposed in coplanarrelationship forming a second extended fiat surface. of said assembly,an end checker of the iirst group and an end checker of the other groupbeing disposed in side by side relationship. forming a cornerlconstruction with the extended flat surfaces engularly disposed.

BRUCE E. TAU.

REFERENCES crnsn file of bhispant:

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